Solima Mathiso Dances His Way to Silver for South Africa

Photo Credit: Brenda Veldtman

At just 16, Solima Mathiso is already taking South African talent onto international stages, with a silver medal around his neck and Amsterdam now waiting in the wings.

Western Cape, South Africa (11 August 2026) – It has been an extraordinary few weeks for Solima Mathiso, culminating in a coveted silver medal in the Junior Classical Division of the 13th South African International Ballet Competition (SAIBC), held at Artscape from the 3rd to the 6th of August.

And the medal wasn’t the only good news.

At just 16 years old, Solima was also awarded a scholarship to attend the European School of Ballet in Amsterdam, where he will take part in a 100% sponsored winter intensive in 2027.

For his ballet teacher, Nqaba Mafilika, the result made everything it took to get Solima onto that stage worthwhile.

Mafilika knows the demands of dance well. He has enjoyed his own success as a dancer and was one of the Top 20 contestants on SABC1’s So You Think You Can Dance in 2008. Today, he is helping young dancers like Solima discover just how far their own talent can take them.

“It has been an exciting week,” Mafilika said. “We faced many challenges getting to the SAIBC but in the end, Solima’s hard work and dedication paid off… I am so proud!”

The achievement is even more impressive considering Solima had barely returned home before the competition began.

Just a few days earlier, he had landed back in South Africa after spending five weeks at the Houston Ballet Academy in Texas, where he took part in an intensive ballet programme arranged by Kristine Elliott. There wasn’t much time to recover from the journey before it was back to the barre, back to rehearsals and then onto the Artscape stage.

Dance, it seems, is very much part of the family. Solima’s sister, Milisa, is also a successful professional dancer, while his cousins Mthuthuzeli and Siphe November are building impressive careers internationally. Mthuthuzeli is pursuing a successful choreographic career in London, while Siphe is making his mark in ballet in Amsterdam.

Solima is now carving out a path of his own. His silver medal came during four days of exceptional performances and international exchange at the SAIBC, where young dancers from South Africa and abroad competed for top honours while gaining something equally important: experience and connections with leading figures in the international ballet community. Founded by Dirk Badenhorst, Artistic Director of Mzansi Ballet, the SAIBC remains the only international ballet competition of its kind on the African continent and is a proud member of the International Federation of Ballet Competitions. This year’s dancers performed before an internationally respected jury comprising Joseph Morrissey from the USA, Sergey Usanov from Russia, Callum Hastie from Australia, Kate Coyne from the UK, Lorelei Bari representing Romania and Germany, Ariel Mejic from Cuba and South Africa’s Thoriso Magongwa, who is based in Czechia.

And among all that international talent was a 16-year-old from Zolani Township, representing South Africa and showing exactly why his name is one worth remembering.

We will be following his journey closely as he prepares for the next South African International Ballet Competition, which will take place at Artscape from 19 to 21 July 2027.